The “Slow Moving Vehicle” (SMV) emblem is an orange triangle with a red border (see picture). It must be displayed on farm machinery and implements of husbandry and other machinery including road construction and maintenance equipment designed to operate at 25 mph or less while traveling on a public highway. The use of such emblem shall be in addition to any lighting devices, flags or other equipment required by law and shall be maintained so as to be visible from anyone approaching a slow moving vehicle from the rear.

If mud, dirt, or manure obscures its visibility, it does not meet the requirement of the law. Each piece of agricultural equipment, whether self-propelled or used in combination, shall separately display a SMV emblem. The signs should be removed or covered when the vehicles they are on are parked along a public roadway.

The slow-moving vehicle emblem is not for recreational vehicles that are not engaged in agricultural activities and it cannot be used as a marker for driveways, on gates, on mailboxes, or as a clearance marker for wide loads or equipment.

With the recent increase of local Amish population comes more horse-drawn buggies and farm implements. As a result, the Franklin County Traffic Safety Board and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office have taken up an initiative to increase awareness of the designated Slow Moving Vehicle emblems and where improperly used, to request owners to remove them. Where improper use of the SMV sign is identified, enforcement agencies will so note and Sheriff Mulverhill will send a letter to the home owner requesting the sign’s removal.

Local motorists may have noticed that some Amish buggies do not display the SMV symbol. New York state DMV has ruled that, for Amish vehicles drawn by animals, they must display a SMV sign or at least 72 square inches of a high quality white or whitish-gray reflective tape, and if at night, a lighted lantern with a red lens at least 4 inches in diameter.

For more articles on traffic law and safety, go to the traffic safety board’s website at www.franklincony.org and click on “Traffic Safety Board” under departments then look for Did You Know articles under “services.” You may also email me at: dwerner151@verizon.net.